William Way

William Way (alias May, alias Flower) (died 1588) was an English Catholic priest and martyr executed under Elizabeth I after the Protestant Reformation. He is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church.

Early life and education William Way was born in the Diocese of Exeter about c. 1560. Bishop Richard Challoner said he was born in Cornwall, and earlier authorities say in Devonshire.

Since the Protestant Reformation had closed Catholic seminaries in England, Way went to France to study. On 31 March 1584, he received his first tonsure in the Cathedral of Reims from the Cardinal of Guise. On 22 March he was ordained subdeacon, on 5 April deacon, and priest on 18 September 1586, at Laon, probably by Bishop Valentine Douglas (Valentine Duglas), O.S.B. Way was "hung, drawn and quartered" at Kingston upon Thames. The date is variously given as either 23 September or 1 October 1588.